Remember that you can always add but can’t take out

Svensson says: “I was told very early in my career that ‘you can always add but never take out’. I always keep this in mind whenever I make drinks: it is always easier to modify a drink by adding a little more of an ingredient if needed.”

Listen to the ice to know when the cocktail is ready

“Shaking a cocktail but not sure when it is ready? Not a problem,” says Svensson. “Depending on how hard you shake, the cocktail will be ready after 10-20 seconds. However, who keeps track of this? A simple way to tell when your drink is ready to be poured is when the shaker starts to frost up, and you can ‘draw’ on it. This indicates the ice has been broken up and has correctly diluted the drink.

“You can also hear the difference of the ice size as you shake. Starting off with big chunks that sound like rocks in your shaker, after about 20 seconds the ice will have broken up into smaller fragments and the sound from your shaker will be that of small pebbles.”

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